The Becky O'Shea List of the day
by BIFF1
Summary: I can't believe my dad won't let me play football this year. Two broken arms is no reason to stop me from playing. What am I going to do with myself without football?How will I get a date? First person story including Becky's interesting lists of the day
1. Intro

A/N: I really should be writing my Tower Prep stories but I was craving this show and watched the movie three times on friday and this just kind of happened. Hope you like it. I don't imagine this fandom has a lot of readers so please review.

**The Becky O'Shea list of the Day**

If you want to stop liking someone here is the easiest way, have your dad and their mother start dating and living together and have to share a bathroom with them. A little complicated for you? It's how I got over my crush on my soon to be step brother Junior.

There is nothing like living with someone to bring all their faults glaringly to light.

Top Ten reason's I don't have a crush on Junior anymore

10) He always uses the last of the milk. It's not just once or twice either but every carton, so at least once a week or so I'm sitting across the kitchen table from him eating dry cereal.

9) The phone rings all the time now and its always for him. I think I would die of shock if the phone wasn't for him. It's always some cute girl from school calling to either moon over him or listen to him say hello and hang up, those are the worst.

8) He spends more time in the bathroom than any boy ever should. He takes more time in there than the rest of the house combined. And on top of that he always beats me to the bathroom in the morning, I swear he must wait for me to get up because pretty much the first thing I see is his smiling face slamming the bathroom door in my face. With him always in the bathroom first and forever you'd think that he wouldn't always get the last of the milk but he does.

7) He leaves the toilet seat up. This may seem like an over reaction but tell that to me after you fall into the cold water in the middle of the night. Seriously does the seat weigh a million pounds?

6) I must have at least ten girls at our school trying to be friends with me so that they can sneak into his room and steal something. It is seriously putting a strain on my friendships with girls. Not that I have a lot of them so you can understand why this added strain is a bit much for me, I'm starting to think I'll never have a best girlfriend... the closest I have is Debbie and I mean she's related to me.

5) After the summer we were all in pee wee football together Junior made friends with Murphy, Briggs and Patterson. I played with them too and while they are fun and great to play football with I don't really care for having them in my house. They are messy and love messing with me. They are always hanging out in Juniors room and frankly the walls are thin and I do _not_ need to know about Patterson's intense love for Susan Wilkinson.

I've never been able to look at her the same way.

4) Speaking of thin walls not only do I know way more about the shape of Susan Wilkinson's...well everything then anyone should ever know I also haven't had a proper full nights sleep in far too long. Junior needs music to get to sleep. I very much do not. I have to wait until I hear his god awful snoring sneak into his room and turn off the radio before I can get to sleep.

3) As you may have been able to guess he's very popular with the ladies. Which unfortunately means I have seen almost everyone of Junior's many girlfriends in various states of undress.

2) Spike Hammersmith. You may be wondering what he has to do with me no longer having romantic feelings for Junior. It's not what you're thinking. Rather it seems that Junior and he have instead of growing closer like he had with Murphy, Briggs and Patterson they have developed some sort of weird rivalry. When we started living together he apparently took up my rivalry with Spike. I'm not sure how but this gesture pretty much solidified a new platonic feeling for the tall blonde.

1) The number one reason that I got over my crush on Junior is that our parents got married or at least are about to get married in a couple of weeks and we have been living in the same house for five years. Yeah they were pretty slow on the whole making it official in the eyes of the law thing. What can I say, he's my brother and for five years I have been living with his milk stealing, bathroom hogging, grudge sharing boy and slowly all the awkward I'm in love with my sort of step brother feelings have disappeared and living in my heart instead is a sisterly protect you to the end of my life, let you use my homework, cover for you when you sneak out love.

"Icebox." Looking up I can see Patterson in the hallway standing slightly away from the door frame as if he expects me to rush him.

Quirking an eyebrow and sitting up on my bed I close my Physics textbook and focus on the tall lanky boy, "What?"

"You know the start of term get to know you dance..." Peterson is twitching and the nervousness is kind of memorizing. Drawn to the sudden shyness of the normally brash boy, I lean causally against the door frame waiting for this conversation to go somewhere that makes some sort of sense. His nervousness would make sense if he was asking me to go with him to the dance but that is impossible. Not only because of his incredible love of Susan Wilkinson but because we barely tolerate each others existence beyond the football field. Personally I don't really care about him, he's Junior's friend and that's all.

"I know of it..." I push hair out of my face studying him. His bright blue eyes are darting around the room as if he's worried about getting caught.

"Did you know if..."

"Susan has a date?" I smirk at the shocked look on his face.

"How?"

I knock on the wall and the sound is loud and echoing in the hallway, "old house, thin walls." I pause to take in his sufficiently embarrassed face, "No she doesn't Billy. Ask her soon, I'm sure you're not the only one to notice her perfect...assets..."

I can hear Patterson swallow a lump in his throat, "Thanks Icebox...ummm good luck."

"With what?"

He's already moving down the hall to Junior's room, "getting a date."

He says it with such pity I want to call Debbie and tell her to warn Susan away from him. But somehow I know that he's being sincere. Painfully sincere and filled with pity for the girl that all the boys in school are afraid of.

Well almost all the boys but I didn't want to go there.

I was lying on the floor beside my bed the last of the free summer air drifting over me from the open window. I could hear Junior and Peterson talking excitedly about the dance and which girls would be the best choices. It was mostly a once sided topic because Billy was madly in teenage love with Susan and swore if he couldn't go with her he wouldn't go. It was mostly Junior who was having a hard time deciding who to go with. He was the most sought after boy in their grade and the grades below for that fact. The senior girls however seemed to prefer Spike.

It was a weird bad boy thing I think. He looked a little James Dean, he had a rebel without a cause, devil may care attitude with a slender but solid build. The only thing he seemed to give a shit about was football and I couldn't help but respect him for that.

This was the first year I wasn't going to be playing football with him and I was a little disappointed. I had both my arms broken last season, not at the same time but still I had had a hard enough time convincing dad and Patty to let me play after the first broken arm that after the second there was no way it was happening. So this year instead of pushing me to be better he would just be pushing my buttons.

I could see the blue and silver of my old lettermans jacket hanging on the chair on the otherside of the bed. I could hear excited girlish chatter and it pulled my attention away from the now sad silver and blue.

"Oh my god you will not believe what I just heard!"

Looking upside down towards the open doorway I saw pink kitten heels and soft tanned legs. Pulling my eyes up soft looking blonde hair and bright eyes and an excited pretty face. Debbie O'Shea.

Sighing I sat up, "What?" I was waiting for her favourite topic to come streaming out of her mouth, boys and the gossip that surrounded them.

Debbie flounced into the room and sat down on the floor next to me. She was smiling in a way that I knew that this news would be different, "I just heard that Coach Foster? You know the Football couch," She added like I hadn't been playing ball for him for two years already, "He's looking for a student assistant. I was there for practice when he was talking to Coach Miller. I almost fell off the pyramid to tell him that it should be you!"

"Oh my god!" There are very few occasions were I have jumped up and down with excitement, when we won the game against the cowboys five years ago, when I got kissed by Brad Shakemen in junior high and now. I stood up so quickly that I felt a little dizzy, "what did he say?"

Debbie jumped up elegantly and I felt a twinge of jealousy fly quickly through my body, " He said make sure she's here for try outs next Thursday!"

"Oh my god! I love you!" I grabbed her hands and we jumped up and down in a circle until Patty came rushing upstairs to make sure we were okay.

"Becky? Debbie? Is everything alright?" She still had yellow rubber gloves on and she was dripping sudsy water onto the floor.

"Becky's going to be assisting Coach Foster this season!" Debbie squealed excitedly.

"Icebox?" Behind Patty Peterson and Junior had appeared.

"I get to help the team after all!" I couldn't stop smiling.

"That's great!" Junior smiled.

"I thought she got a date for the dance." Peterson's words were quiet but they rang in my ears and the smile that Debbie had put there dropped.


	2. The party

**A/N:** So this is my first real attempt at a first person narrative. I hope it's okay. I haven't gotten any feedback for this at all yet. I'm going to soldier on at least until there is some Spike action because mainly I'm writing this for myself.

**The Becky O'Shea List of the day**

"What's he talking about date?" Debbie asked when the hall had emptied.

I had been silly to think that Debbie wouldn't catch what Billy had said. Her ears where tuned into hearing that kind of thing.

"The get to know you dance." I sighed pushing hair away from my eyes avoiding her gaze.

"So? You don't have a date?" She closed the open door keeping her voice quiet keeping this conversation from the rest of the house.

"No." my voice hitched and I hated myself a little bit. I threw myself onto the bed a long heavy sigh escaping, "And I won't get one."

Debbie was standing at the end of the bed arms crossed, stance wide. Somehow challenging. It was times like this that she really reminded me of Uncle Kevin.

"Of course you will. You are an O'Shea, we get what we want." Her voice was quiet and firm and strong and her determination unwavering. She sat on the bed next to me and smiling she poked me in the side, "So, which boy do you want?"

I shrugged, "I hadn't really thought of it..."

"This could be a problem." She was quiet for a couple of minutes before she sprung up off of the bed, "You're going to Macy's party tonight."

"I am?"

"You sure are. Be at my house after dinner we'll go together."

"I don't understand how will this get me a date?"

"Oh leave that to me." Debbie flounced happily out of the room just as excited as she had been when she had gotten here.

"So what are you two doing on the last night of Summer vacation?" Dad smiled as he handed the pitcher of iced tea to Junior.

"I'm going to Macy's party tonight."

"Oh me too." I was a little taken aback at how surprised he seemed.

"You are?"

"Hey it's not like I've never been to a party before."

"Yeah but usually you go with the team and only after like twenty minutes of being badgered. So who talked you into it this time?"

I looked away from his smug face, "Debbie."

Debbie's room hadn't changed much in five years, still incredibly girly, pink and frilly. White furniture and pretty glass bottles shining in the failing summer light.

"You don't look too bad." She smiled taking in my appearance. She spun me around and I felt off balance for more than one reason.

She was really looking at me, evaluating me and I didn't like it. I knew that tonight was going to be a long night so I had worn jeans and sneakers. I wore a blue peasant blouse that Debbie had given me a couple of Christmas's ago. Something I knew she wouldn't have a problem with if I wore.

"You just had to wear this didn't you." She sighed pulling at my letterman's jacket.

"Why wouldn't I? It'll be cold when we leave the party."

"Oh Becky, Becky, Becky. Don't you understand what tonight is?"

"A party?"

"Oh sweet innocent Becky." She shook her head and pulled the jacket off of me, "These are the colors of being taken. This symbolizes not only that you have a boyfriend but a boyfriend that will beat the shit out of any boy who tries to talk to you. This is the party when we find out which boys like you so obviously this has to go."

"That's a lot for a jacket to say..." I shivered. I had grown accustom to the warmth and protection the jacket had provided. I wasn't sure if I was ready to see which boys liked me, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I had a feeling I wasn't going to be very pleased with the results.

"Yeah well it does." She threw the jacket onto the bed and started pacing around the room, "At least your hair is down. You look so cute with your hair down."

"Umm thanks?" I chose not to tell her that Patty had done my hair. She had walked by when I had thrown my hairbrush across the room and she had come to my rescue.

"Wear this instead." She threw a thin black cardigan at me. I caught it easily even thou the toss was high and to the right. I put it on and let her spin me around again.

"That'll do." she smiled happily and grabbed my arm, "Let's go find you a boy." there was a finality in her words that made me nervous but also excited. Having a boyfriend would fill up the time I usually dedicated to practising football with the guys.

Maybe I would even have a proper date to Dad and Patty's wedding.

Susan Wilkinson was waiting downstairs. She was smiling brightly and was laughing a little as Debbie pulled me down the stairs, "I didn't think I'd ever see you out of that blue and silver." her voice was sweet and her face was kind. I could understand why Patterson was so infatuated with her. She was pretty and a good person.

"It almost didn't happen, someone had brought their security blanket."

"Did you really think you'd get away with your lettermen's jacket?" She asked opening the front door and making her way to the beaten up car she had inherited from her brother.

"Yes..." I mumbled getting into the back seat of the rusted car. I didn't really see the point in driving to Macy Abbot's house when we live in a pretty compact town. Perhaps it was a fast get away thing in case the party got raided.

The ride over was of course incredibly short, long enough for Debbie and Susan to sing to some catchy pop song on the radio. It was only 9:00 and the house was thumping. The sound of pop music and teenage chatter spilled out onto the street.

"Come on." Susan grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me towards the house, "I hear were looking for you're soul mate." I would have been mad at Debbie if Susan hadn't of been the most trustworthy person I had ever met.

The house was hot and filled with what looked like 90 percent of the high school. I tried to follow Susan into the house but she quickly disappeared. A panicked nervousness flooded my body. I had never been alone at a party in my entire life. All through out Junior High and so far all of High School I had been surrounded by my teammates and friends or at the very least Junior.

"Debbie?" I turned around to see her bright blonde hair disappear down the hall. I let the crowd surge and push me further into the house. Apparently she was leaving me to find a boy on my own. I racked my brain trying to think of what Debbie would want me to do. All I could think of was my thirst, so I made my way to the kitchen.

Macy Abbot was leaning happily against the kitchen counter talking to a blond boy I would have known in my sleep, "Hey Macy, Junior." I nodded on my way past them towards the fridge.

"Hey Icebox..." Macy's smile faltered, "Or should I call you Becky now?"

"What are you talking about?" Junior turned around and reached his hand out to grab a hold of my shirt, "What are you wearing?"

"It's called a shirt?"

"You look like a girl."

I rolled my eyes, "Nice eye...I'll see you later." I shook my head lightly and brushed past them. Opening the fridge I noticed that Macy had done a good job at removing anything that she didn't want eaten, I doubted her fridge usually contained only beer and water. I picked up a bottle of water looked at it a moment and then put it back. I didn't have to worry about practice or training anymore, I picked up a bottle of beer and exited the kitchen.

The living room was thumping with music and people and seemed like a good place to disappear into the crowd. I leaned against the wall and looked at the bottle. I had picked a bottle that didn't twist, of course. Looking around to see if there was a bottle opener around I didn't notice him slide up next to me until suddenly the bottle was no longer in my hands.

"Isn't this beverage a little adult for you Icebox?" the voice was strong and dark and I sighed.

"Just give it back Spike." I turned and saw Spike. Tall, lean, dark and smug. His skin looked paler against the black of his hair. It hung just long enough for him to be able to shake it out of his dark eyes. He held the bottle close to me but as I tried to retrieve it he pulled it away.

"How are you going to open it?" His face was smug and I already missed hitting him and pushing him into the mud. He didn't however wait for a response, he lined the bottle up against an end table and slammed his fist down on the lid. He pulled the bottle away now without it's lid.

The word thanks tried to push its way out of my mouth but I clamped my mouth shut. There was no way I was going to thank Spike Hammersmith, bane of my existence for opening a beer I only had the smallest of intentions of actually drinking. Taking the bottle from him I looked around the room trying to find a glimpse of Susan or Debbie. Finding none I put the bottle against my mouth and leaned back against the wall.

The beer was bitter and I'm sure my face showed it because when I looked around Spike was holding in laughter, "Why are you still here?"

"That's not a very nice thing to say to a teammate." he held a hand to his heart.

"I'm not your teammate anymore."

"What?" Spike turned to look at me properly he looked shocked, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about two broken arms last year and freaked out parents unwilling to sign the permission slip. Why what do you care?" I didn't feel like telling him that I would be helping out Coach instead. He looked too shocked and let down that I wanted to relish in the fact that he would miss me. Apparently horribly.

"I... I don't." he said quickly and awkwardly, his words sounded a lot more like he cared a lot. It brought a small smirk to my face, "I was wondering why you were dressed like a girl instead of wearing your jacket."

"I always dress like a girl." I mumbled taking another swig from the bottle.

"Sure." the word was stretched and it was impossible to think that he believed what he was saying.

"I do."

"No. You don't." He pulled at the hem of my shirt feeling the fabric slowly, I could feel a knot of anticipation build in my body. His fingers were milometers from my skin and it tingled and burnt, "Today you look... cute." the last word was quiet and if the music hadn't taken a sudden dip I wouldn't have heard it at all.

"Excuse me?" my face flushed and I looked everywhere but at him, "did you just say I looked cute?"

"That's ridiculous," he laughed awkwardly not looking me in the eyes, "obviously you've had too much to drink." he took the bottle from me easily. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and put the bottle to his lips, draining the bottle and putting it down on the end table next to him before I could say anything against it.

"Hey?"

Without looking at me he spoke, "I'll get you some more..." he disappeared quickly into the kitchen.

"So do you like Spike or something?" Debbie's voice was quiet and seemingly came out of no where. Turning away from where Spike had just been I saw that Debbie had slid in next to me on the other side, silently like a spy or a ninja.

"Why would you say that?"

"Well we've been here for an hour or so and the only boy you've talked to extensively is Spike."

"Spike has been talking to me." I defended kind of nervous that the only boy I've talked to was indeed Spike. This was not the way to go about getting a boyfriend. This wasn't how Debbie was going to find out which boys liked me.

"Well he's going to scare all the other boys away Becks. Come on." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the middle of the room where about fifteen people were dancing.

Top Five Reasons Debbie is Awesome

5) In spite of being a really girlie girl she loves me terribly and demands to hang out with me whenever I don't have practice. Which now is all the time

4) She's better than CNN. She knows everything that will effect my life almost immediately, seriously she should have her own show, or newspaper.

3) When I broke my arm the second time, which was during practice, yeah thanks a lot Spike, Debbie was the one to drive me to the doctors. She drove me to a doctors office the next town over in hopes to hide the fracture from dad and Patty. If the cast wouldn't have tipped them off the call from Coach Foster would have. Still the thought was pretty heart warming.

2) She is now dancing with me in the silly fun way that she usually reserves for family gatherings. She is laughing and doing The Sprinkler as we speak. She is making a fool out of herself because she is determined to find me a date to the upcoming dance if not several. I can tell her eyes are flitting about the room taking stock of the boys in the room, evaluating them. I think she might even have Susan in another room talking about me and noting the reactions.

1) The number one reason Debbie is awesome has got to be how far she is willing to go for me. Almost falling off the pyramid in order to get me the assistant coach position, wasting valuable boy time with me trying to prove Billy Patterson wrong. Her dedication to me and our family is mindboggling.

Bonus reason) A couple of summers ago she kept look out while I punched Murphy in the face after he told me I would never get on the junior varsity team because I was a girl. According to Murphy girls can't do anything and frankly that didn't fly with Debbie.

"Don't look now." Debbie quirked an eyebrow and indicated with a jerk of her elbow toward the kitchen.

I turned because don't look now almost always really means look at that. There leaning against the wall is Spike, he is holding two beers and chatting calmly with a girl who obviously wants his tongue in her mouth.

"Okay now we will find out how much Spike is into you."

"He's not into me." I sigh trying to put the cute comment and near touches out of my head.

"Oh he so is." Debbie is smirking and it looks unnaturally devious on her face, "See that." She all but points at the girl Spike is talking to. He looks disinterested as she points upstairs.

The girl looked flustered and storms away.

"That was Caroline Fletcher, she's the easiest senior at school. She just asked him to check out the bedrooms upstairs."

"How do you know that?"

Debbie shrugged, "Because I paid her five bucks."

I stopped dancing shocked at how underhanded this angelic looking blonde could be, "You what?"

"Oh don't look at me like that." she stopped dancing and grabbed a hold of my hand, "It was only five bucks if she was willing to do something like that for five bucks she was probably going to do it anyway."

"Why did you do that?"

"Well either we would find out how much he liked you, which by the way is a lot, or we'd get rid of him so other boys could make there intentions known."

"You've really thought this through."

"I'm an O'Shea of course I have a game plan." She smiled and I laughed a little, "Did you want to go over there and claim your beer? Which by the way we will talk about later."

"I don't like him."

"Okay."

"You don't believe me do you?"

She shook her head and disappeared into the crowd leaving me once again alone.

"Here." a dark open bottle of beer slid down my shoulder. Had Spike really entered the dance floor after me? Taking the beer and turning around I confirmed that yes indeed he had.

"Umm thanks..." The tempo of the pounding music suddenly dropped and a sweet slow melody pumped through the speakers.

"Is this The Beatles?" Spike spoke, his dark strong voice soft and gentle as he listened to the song.

It was actually Wings, it was Maybe I'm Amazed. But that's not what I was interested in at all. What had grabbed my attention was that we were in the middle of the room surrounded by slow dancing couples. Was he going to ask me to dance or was he going to stand there and talk about Paul McCartney and drink his beer. I think I was the most curious about which I wanted to happen the most.

"It's Wings actually." I whispered and taking a deep breath sucked back some of the bitter liquid. Not because I thought it would give me courage but more so because I needed something to do with my hands and my mouth.

Spike didn't ask me to dance. He just took my beer and using his long arms put it as well as his down on a table. Without a word he took a hold of my body and pushed it closer to his.

I swallowed hard and with slightly shaking hands tried to figure out where my hands were supposed to go.

"Give me this." He grabbed a shaking hand in his and we slowly swayed to the music.

The fact that I didn't punch him in the face probably meant that I wasn't entirely opposed to his touch. Was it possible that his James Dean, devil may care attitude had gotten to me without me knowing it. He had never treated me like a girl before and I was beginning to understand his appeal.

"Do you like me?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"I guess." Not exactly the declaration of love and passion I was expecting. The way Debbie talked I would have thought that he would lay his life down for me.

"I see."

"Do you like me?"

I shrugged, "Maybe." If he could be vague so could I. If this was a sport like Debbie seemed to make it out to be I was going to play. I had been playing this kind of game with Spike for years. Giving him what he gave me. While this had always meant a rough tackle and a blood stained jersey before I wasn't going to let Debbie down. I was an O'Shea and we played to win.

If he was surprised at my response he didn't show it and when the song ended he leaned down to look at me properly. His face was close to mine and I could feel the heat of his skin radiate, washing over me, speeding up my heart.

"You look good with your hair down like this." he smirked and walked calmly away.

I narrowed my eyes and exited the dance floor myself.

Game on Spike.


	3. The fight

A/N: So i had half of this sitting in my cell phone waiting for me to that weird little giant's craving I sometimes get. Well you're all in luck. A friend of mine had never seen the movie so I pretty much forced it on her and a week or so later here we are. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3: The fight

This felt weird. Weird is the only way to describe it. Never has there been such an eventful last day of summer.

So far I've had a surprisingly civil conversation with Patterson, had my first beer, been guaranteed the student assistant coach position, been called cute and danced to Wings with Spike.

Spike, who until today has been my rival and off field enemy. This is the guy who broke my arms, he's 100 percent the reason I can't play ball anymore. In fact my left arm hurts like a bitch when the weather is about to change.

Am I really considering what it would be like to kiss the boy who turned my body into a barometer?

Of course I am.

I took another sip of the bitter liquid and searched the party for someone who would lend this night some sort of normalcy.

"Do I need new glasses?" A deliberate and calculating voice reached my ears, not making any effort to be heard over the thumping bass.

Looking around it was easy to find the source, "Nubie?" I smiled, Nubie looked the same as always, a little out of place with his collared shirt and tie. Exactly the comforting familiarity I was looking for.

I placed myself on the wall he was occupying close enough that I could feel the starch in his shirt rub against the thin fabric of Debbie's sweater.

"Why do you need new glasses? Didn't you just get new ones?" I asked tapping his frames. I was surprised when he wrapped his hand around my wrist.

I'm not sure he's ever touched me before and it produced a slow burn and breathing became unnaturally hard but maybe that was the fog of beer making me think that. He rubbed his thumb against my skin gently before letting my hand fall away.

"Where you just dancing with Spike?"

"Oh." I looked away, something in his voice sounded almost betrayed, the comforting feel of his presence changed into something else...I don't know what.

"So I don't need new glasses, I was worried I had been given the wrong prescription."

We stood in silence for a moment, near touching, I have never felt quiet so awkward before. For some reason it now felt wrong what had happened between Spike and I. I pulled the last of the beer out of the bottle. Surely I must have made a face because Nubie's expression lightened.

"Why are you drinking? Don't you have try outs Thursday?"

"No I don't." I sighed heavily and pointed at my most recently broken arm.

He took it gently in his hands as if he could break it again and pushed up the thin black cotton hiding my skin from the world. He ran one hand up and down the skin, sending a shockingly warm feeling through me.

"It's healed pretty well." His words were soft and I had to lean in to hear him over the song.

"Better than the other one." I held up the other arm for inspection wanting his touch to last just a little longer. He took the bait and slid his hand along that one as well. Turning it carefully looking closely at the joints.

"Yeah, this was the first one he broke right?" It felt wrong for him to accuse Spike outright like that, really I shouldn't have gone for those last yards, I knew better and now everyone seemed to think that he had purposefully snapped my bone.

However I just nodded.

"Yeah you should have waited out the rest of the season...like I told you." His thumb rubbed the skin and I looked up into his eyes. They were a lot closer than I thought they'd be.

I shrugged, pulling my arms easily from his grip and stepping a little bit away, "They needed me to win state. I couldn't let something like a broken arm stop me, I'm the icebox."

The words came out hard and sharp and as soon as they had escaped I wanted to pull them back in and hide them. I was ashamed and I could tell that Nubie knew that for he just shook his head slowly and pulled down one of the sleeves of the cardigan, "maybe its for the best that you have to be Becky for awhile."

And with that he left me. His words echoed through the music, and his touch lingered on my skin. Did I even know how to be Becky anymore?

Things I didn't realize about Nubie until right now:

1) He got tall, almost a foot taller than me, a slender tower in a tie.

2) Ties are kinda cool. I've only really seen Dad or Uncle Kev in a tie before and dad just looks like dad and Uncle Kevin looks...well like a car salesman. Nubie however looks like he should be teaching at a college or editing a newspaper. Which as of now seems really cool.

3) His eyes are a ridiculous blue. Dazzling even, and they just radiate this powerful intelligence.

4) Something about the way his skin felt on mine felt right. A comforting slow burn I never would have associated with Nubie.

And I think most importantly,

5) That betrayal in his voice cut me.

"So we have two options I see?" Debbie grabbed my arm as she walked by. She dragged me through the house into the backyard before I could think of anything to say otherwise.

The backyard was light up by old christmas lights in the trees, creating oddly festive pools of light. In a rather green pool of light Susan was leaning against a tree apparently very "interested" in what Bryce Lesko had to say.

I noticed that Billy was standing in another pool of light with Junior looking very interested in putting his fist through Bryce's face. Bryce is Susan's almost boyfriend, I know this almost entirely because Billy loves to talk about how stupid this guy is.

I completely agree with Billy, Susan can do way better than this jackanape, so I don't feel the slightest hint of remorse when Debbie and I invade the pool of light.

"Leave." I tell him, and thankfully I still have enough credibility that this causes him to scamper away like a puppy.

"What's happening?" Susan asks completely unphased by Bryce's hasty exit, proving once more why he is not her boyfriend.

"Becky has two prospective suitors."

"Spike of course, but whose the other?" Susan asks and I have to wonder if she said Spike because she saw us inside or if perhaps this has been a long time coming and I was the only one who didn't know. Part of me hopes its the later.

"Nubie." Debbie tells Susan quietly as if its a secret.

Susan, who is pulling lightly on her hair nods as if she was silly to not have seen it.

"He made a move after Spike made his intentions known?" She whispers surprised, "that's impressive, I didn't think we'd get another on line."

"No kidding, but I didn't think we'd have use of another one but look at her." Debbie points at me and I have no idea why but Susan must because they share a knowing smile.

Girls have there own secret wordless language that I know nothing about.

This knowing smile and that movement of her hand apparently mean much more to Debbie than to me because Debbie nods excitedly in agreement to Susan's silent statement.

They look at me sharing a conversation in a language I don't understand for two whole minutes before a break down, "what is it!"

"You like Nubie." Susan says smiling.

"Of course I do," I shrug and even thou I know what they mean I pretend that I don't, "We've been friends forever."

Something about what Nubie had said to me makes me want to keep the whole transaction a secret. The whole party doesn't need to know that I think the team can't do a thing without me. Debbie especially, having her know I don't know how to just be myself anymore seems devastating.

"You know we don't mean like that." Debbie's voice is stern and straight. She saw right through me, I don't know why I bother, I mean even Jr can see right through me now. Am I really that much of an open book?

"So which boy do you want?" Susan asks and suddenly I feel like I can't breath. She says the question like it's as simple as asking if I want a drink or not.

I need an escape, a way out anything. I lock eyes with Junior over Debbie's shoulder. If I'm such an open book he should be able to tell I need him.

All he does is smile and wave before turning back to his conversation with Patterson.

You've got to be kidding me! He's supposed to be my brother, he's supposed to have my back. What happened to him knowing me so well I can't lie to him? What use is a brother if he's not going to rescue you!

"Becky?" Susan asks waving a hand in front of my face, "What's that matter?"

"Nothing's wrong with her she's trying to get out of this conversation." Debbie deadpan's.

Sure she gets it right away.

And that's when I see it. Behind them Patterson has launched himself at Bryce.

"No look." I point, smiling more than I should.

They turn around and I can hear Susan's sharp intake of breath.

In no time at all some of Bryce's friends enters the scuffle, one punching Junior right in the gut, the other holding him.

Well that's it isn't it? I pull Debbie's girly cardigan off and drape it over her shoulder. There's no way I can let my brother fight TWO guys.

Top Three Reason I'm in this fight:

3) Junior is my brother and friend, this means there are certain obligations such as covering for him when he's in trouble and of course coming to his aid in an unfair fight. Even if he didn't come to mine.

2) I really prefer Patterson to Bryce. Bryce is a jerk and Susan deserves much better.

And of course the number one reason I'm punching Jamie Foster in the liver is;

1) It stops the conversation about if I like Nubie...that way. Something I don't know and don't want to talk about.

"Becky!" I hear Susan and Debbie yelling from the sideline's as almost everyone in the backyard gets pulled into the fight. It is easy to ignore there concerned yells when Orson Tanner has his hand wrapped in my hair. This is the very reason I never have my hair down. I don't care if it looks cuter down, it's a liability.

"COPS!" Someone yells as another person joins the fray.

Total panic breaks out and Orson quickly pulls his hand from my hair so he can runaway like a coward. Then again the last place I'd want my police officer father to find me is in a fight with a girl, completely hammered. It's almost as if the fight explodes, everyone involved seems to burst away from the centre like there lifes depend on it.

"Icebox come on!" Someone yells and pulls me away from the fight my fist hitting the air in front of Bryce's nose.

The flashing red and blue fill up the backyard as the person who has me by the collar pushes me over the back fence.

We run four blocks before I turn to see who had pulled me out of the fight.

It's Patterson and Briggs.

"Billy?" I slow down, there are no sign of any cops, the siren and the flashes long gone. I rest a moment hands on knees watching the blood drip from my knuckles onto the sidewalk, wondering briefly if it's mine or if it belongs to someone else

"That a good enough distraction for you Icebox?" Briggs laughs.

"What?" I straighten up looking at them closely.

"Junior said you needed a distraction and well Billy was looking for an excuse to punch Lesko's lights out all night...so..." Briggs stretched lazily looking from one to the other before shrugging, "My house is just over there, I'll see you guys tomorrow." He started to walk off towards his house but before he disappeared completely from view he turned and yelled back, "Nice job getting the assistant couch job Icebox!"

Hmm maybe Briggs and Patterson weren't that bad after all. I mean they did get in a huge fight just so I could delay a conversation with Debbie, and they pulled me out so I wouldn't get in trouble.

"How does he know I got the assistant couch job?" I asked Patterson as we started walking back toward my house.

Billy shrugged, "The whole team knows...except Spike we like watching him squirm."

"Squirm?"

"Well yeah." Billy told me around his fingers, I'm pretty sure his saliva wasn't going to bring down that swelling. He stopped and looked at her, "he's totally in love with you, you knew that right?"

"Oh." My face is hot and I can't breath, "Yeah I totally knew that." I am lying and even the cat that just wandered out of the Baker's yard knows it.

"Oh shit." Billy's face is flushed in embarrassment, "I thought you knew that. We all thought you knew. I thought you just didn't like him."

I have no idea what to say, until very VERY recently that was probably true, but would it have stayed true if I had known all this time that he 'loved' me? Wait a second? How long has he loved me? Did he break my arms out of love? I think not.

"Boys are confusing." I muttered.

Billy sighed heavily, "Girls are confusing." He returned and frankly I couldn't disagree I mean I was a girl and even I didn't understand what was going on half the time.

A/N: Please review it makes me feel good and makes me write more.


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